Hi all,

As I have been saying for a long time now I am getting a car, Well I have it now.

So this thread is going to be about what I have done to the car and how I cleaned it up to make a profit for the future of it's life. I am still in the process of doing it up and I only got the car on Saturday. This thread will tell all the issues I have had so far and how I have fixed them.

So lets start from the beginning.

I collected the Skoda Fabia HTP 1.2 2006 Mk 1 (64Bhp) from Mitchell Skoda in Chesire Oaks on Saturday 26th April 2015.

I had a look at the car a few weeks back and it had been left round the back for quite a long time, (Must of been a year or something like that) .

I had seen the car and it looked in pretty good nick for it age, However the boot was completely wrecked by dogs and animals that the previous had owned. When we decided to take it for a test drive the interior stank and wasn't in good nick at all. However the car didn't go very well and the engine check light came on and within one or two miles, we had no power at all. We had to pull to the side of the road and restart the engine.

I got back to the garage and decided that I wasn't having it, but the garage reassured me that the only thing wrong with it was an oil breather hose. I told them that I would think about it. A few weeks back I decided that I would buy the car (now I look on the drive and think in two ways:

- Why have I bought that car?

- That car will be fantastic once it has been fixed.

Those are my thoughts at the moment.)

 

Then two weeks later on Friday 24^th April that my car had still got the issue (which I did get annoyed about because the car had been up there for 2 weeks!). However one of the mechanics (Karl) worked on it till late to try any sort out the problem for me and I still very grateful for him doing it. However my car does have an intermittent issue so it is hard to find the problem. They did use their VAG COM systems and there were no more errors. Karl swapped the leads or something (can’t remember what he did now or what they were called) around and then the car seemed to work fine and they did about 10 miles in it.

Then the next day (Saturday 25^th April) my dad and I take it for a test drive. We drove it for about 25 miles without any engine light and it went really well and there was nothing at all wrong with it. We left it there and then collected it later on in the day to take it home to Wales.

However as we went down the A483 (I think), The engine light came on and we had to stop in the lay-by to reset it with VAG COM. This happened one last time near some services and then it did the last 25 miles without the engine light coming on. However at time it did flash and then it went away.

We did finally get it home and did the journey just under 2 hours!

 

On Sunday morning I started stripping down the boot and seats and getting out the carpet from the boot. It was quite easy accept from the over powering smell of dog. I found plenty of pens, a bit of money, lots of dust and some unused dog pooh bags. We managed to get the boot working as well because the catch had not been given any oil to work on and it kept trying to open and it couldn’t.

After we came back home after a day out, we did a simple service on the car and I started cleaning the rear seats. (i.e. check: tyres/pump them up, oil and all the usual stuff).

Yesterday (Monday) my Mum decided to get my rear seats out and give them a clean because it was such a lovely day.

Once I came back from Sixth Form I could see that they looked way better and now they didn’t have dog stains over them and they don’t smell either. They look ace!

 

Now though I am just trying to get the injector clear and get the engine light off by taking it out for runs in the evening, However I don’t think the injector cleaner is working. I will work on the car interior on the bank holiday weekend.

 

That’s where I am up to at the moment.

I will hopefully get some photos up here of it sometime soon!

Thanks peeps for reading!

A great into thread. Looks like you have saved the car from the brink. I will enjoy seeing your progress.

 

Good luck!

Wow - looks like you have your work cut-out for you with this project.... but sounds like you are enjoying it...

 

Looking forward to your updates...

 

Good Luck

Someone was round cleaning the carpets and had one of those big VAX machines. I took my seats out (the difficult to clean VRS ones) and he gave them a once over for £10 in about 30 mins. They looked new after they dried. To get rid of any solvent residue I hovered them quickly. I would highly recommend if you want a good deep clean - especially to rid some dog smell. You can also do the roof lining (which seems to absorb the aroma of everything you've ever had in the car) 

 

With your engine problem, you might want to give the exact codes your getting with VAG COM - somebody on here will have had a similar issue and will probably be able to solve it. 

 

Since it's a petrol I would do the following to save cash - starting with the cheapest. 

 

Change the fuel Filter 

Spark Plugs (Change them, but first have a look at them - you can tell a lot about an engine from the condition/colour of the plug)

Swap coil packs to see if the problem follows or stays with the same cylinder (quite possible if the problem your having is intermittent which means it may be electrical)

Check the compression on each cylinder - don't quote me but I think it should be over 175 psi

 

You may be looking at a more expensive job if it's the valve guides that have worn causing the valve seats to build up deposits and 'burn'

 

You can lap the valves if the guides are still within the tolerance (not sure what the tolerance is but google may help), but otherwise its a head replacement which is expensive (but less so if you do the work your self)

 

Or option C (Drastic but not unreasonable) - ebay - salvage engine replacement for about £300 - which is actually not that difficult and it's great fun to swap an engine! It's easier than you think. 

 

 

Anyway, a working car is a boring one  

Someone was round cleaning the carpets and had one of those big VAX machines. I took my seats out (the difficult to clean VRS ones) and he gave them a once over for £10 in about 30 mins. They looked new after they dried. To get rid of any solvent residue I hovered them quickly. I would highly recommend if you want a good deep clean - especially to rid some dog smell. You can also do the roof lining (which seems to absorb the aroma of everything you've ever had in the car) 

 

With your engine problem, you might want to give the exact codes your getting with VAG COM - somebody on here will have had a similar issue and will probably be able to solve it. 

 

Since it's a petrol I would do the following to save cash - starting with the cheapest. 

 

Change the fuel Filter 

Spark Plugs (Change them, but first have a look at them - you can tell a lot about an engine from the condition/colour of the plug)

Swap coil packs to see if the problem follows or stays with the same cylinder (quite possible if the problem your having is intermittent which means it may be electrical)

Check the compression on each cylinder - don't quote me but I think it should be over 175 psi

 

You may be looking at a more expensive job if it's the valve guides that have worn causing the valve seats to build up deposits and 'burn'

 

You can lap the valves if the guides are still within the tolerance (not sure what the tolerance is but google may help), but otherwise its a head replacement which is expensive (but less so if you do the work your self)

 

Or option C (Drastic but not unreasonable) - ebay - salvage engine replacement for about £300 - which is actually not that difficult and it's great fun to swap an engine! It's easier than you think. 

 

 

Anyway, a working car is a boring one  

 

UPDATE!!

 

Thank you for your post dyfi. Also my Dad has booked it in the garage for me on Thursday and I have with my brother checked the resistance between all injectors and they are all the same (Hopefully this indicates that it is just dirt in the injectors blocking them - What do you lot think?). They have said that they are going to squeeze it in to their busy schedule and they will tell me the fate of it on Thursday/Friday. I will keep you all updated.

 

Thank you for your post dyfi!

Edited 29 April, 201511 yr by KangarooReviews2014

A fellow 1.2er, interesting thread. Hope you get it all sorted and working fine pal! If you need anything give me a bell

Flashing CEL indicates a misfire which will be electrical, possibly a coil pack or the wiring loom.

A fellow 1.2er, interesting thread. Hope you get it all sorted and working fine pal! If you need anything give me a bell

 

Well, Thank you very much for your offer, But you are miles away! Thank very very much anyway!

Flashing CEL indicates a misfire which will be electrical, possibly a coil pack or the wiring loom.

 

Thank you for the info, It's at the garage atm and hopefully they will find the issue They have taken all three injectors out and will be cleaning them at somepoint.

UPDATE!!

 

My car is still in the garage, Hope it is going to be out sometime this week. However knowing my luck, It won't come out this week! :(

UPDATE!!!

 

Car is being collected from the Garage today with ne injector fitted. Will be taking it out later for a test drive. Then near to the weekend I will start cleaning it from top to toe.

Update!

 

Collected car from garage on Wednesday last week, Is running amazingly well! :sun: - Touch wood!!

 

Also I have cleaned the car inside and now smells way better. I saturated the seats with water and soap to get them clean and made sure they were completely dry before installing them back into the car. I have also cleaned the dashboard, roof lining and lots more. - Also used AutoGlym - Great stuff. Also if trying to get rid of a smell use some vinegar and place it in a boil on the dashboard, does make a massive difference.

 

Also hand crafted some carpet to go in the boot in the mean time, When I sell on the car I will change the carpet to original Skoda boot carpet.

 

If anyone has a boot shelf, I need one because the last owner of this car lost it because they only used the car for dog walks I think, Just trying to get it back to it's former glory!

 

However this Sunday I would like to take the plastic off the doors and clean behind them.

 

Kangaroo

 

P.S. Pictures of the interior will be coming soon...........

Edited 14 May, 201511 yr by KangarooReviews2014

Time to update this! It's been a while!

 

So I have been using my car for driving lessons well with my brother and family.

 

Also I have t-cutted some of the really bad scratches out in places and polished. However because I park it under a tree it gets a lot of bird s*** on it and leaves and blossom so I need to do more to it. But I will finish it off after my exams have finished.

Also need to get behind the door cards and give them a clean. Got a complete air fresh thing that makes the whole car smell better. Also I have replaced the Pollen Filter and Air Filter which made dramactic improvements.

 

So thats all for now! More updates will come in the near future.....................

Sit under the tree with a gun, or park the car elsewhere would be a solution to the bird dropping problems.

You have obviously set your heart on cleaning behind the door trims haven't you. Be sure to buy some clips to replace the original ones that, inevitably, break.

JRJG

...Also need to get behind the door cards and give them a clean...

 

Why?

Seems like taking up a carpet to clean the underside of it!

 

At least if you do, make sure you have replacement clips as above, and a tube of Plumber's Gold to seal the door carriers if you find they're not done when you get in there.

 

Good luck with your exams BTW.

Sit under the tree with a gun, or park the car elsewhere would be a solution to the bird dropping problems.

You have obviously set your heart on cleaning behind the door trims haven't you. Be sure to buy some clips to replace the original ones that, inevitably, break.

JRJG

 

Very good idea, However it is illegal :( - I have not looked that up I just know. Hoping to take the trees down soon.

 

 

Why?

Seems like taking up a carpet to clean the underside of it!

 

At least if you do, make sure you have replacement clips as above, and a tube of Plumber's Gold to seal the door carriers if you find they're not done when you get in there.

 

Good luck with your exams BTW.

 

I have cleaned under the carpets and it was the first thing I did when I got the car and found that there was a lot of dirt under the rear seats. I cleared all the dirt and unsed dog poo bags out and cleaned it until it looked sparkling with the silver paint showing. I did not take the front carpets out because underneath them they were fine.

 

Also I have a fully functional FlipKey sorted for the car now (Got it a few weeks ago).

 

Thanks for the Good Luck!